Transocean holds a third of available 2014 deepwater capacity

Reuters Staff

1 Min Read

Nov 21 (Reuters) - Transocean Ltd attached some hard numbers to industry concerns about near-term slack in the demand for deepwater oil and gas drilling, saying its rigs would represent more than a third of those seeking work in 2014.

Shares of Transocean, owner of the world’s largest offshore drilling fleet, fell 3.7 percent to $51.92 in early trading on Thursday.

Transocean executives told analysts at a meeting in New York that 14 Transocean deepwater rigs would be available in 2014 out of a total of 39 industry-wide. Both figures are unusually high.

Among rivals, Ensco Plc will have eight rigs available and Seadrill five, Transocean said.